Jesus also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like – like a man who has scattered seed on the ground,
to speak of the ineffable
is to make friends
with all manner of illusionsone must become a magician
misdirecting here and now
for a great reveal laterlittle by little we track
an elusive fugitive
hidden beneath our breathwe smoke it out
in one short generation
only to do it anew in a nexthow are we met and loved
go beyond our counting
sand stars seedsnonetheless we open doors
develop new icons
settle a plateau before moving on
“The central inaction may still lie at the heart of the parable.” [Perkins]
G*D’s presence is neutral—at best, catalytic. Necessary gifts and seeds are scattered, thrown about. They land in unexpected places such as the youngest or least expected to lead. Judges such as Deborah or Samson surprise us. Kings such as David are not expected. Female “Christopher’s” such as Mary are considered fanciful. Disciples including Peter, Judas, and The Magdalene could not have been predicted, much less a latter-day disciple Paul from non-disciple Saul.
Down through the years this pattern includes our own selves. Sometimes there is much internal resistance such as came with the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jonah. A question that needs asking and reflecting on again this year (which is every year) has to do with how we will partner with G*D, Creati*n, Neighb*rs, and Instituti*ns this time around. Well? Ask that in your own words of yourself and others around you.
In wilderness days when more devolution than evolution seems to be intentionally wielding its way, we are thrown back into a mystery that goes even further than the mystery of biology. We want to know how long before there is another sea change and how will it come about. These external changes are unknown and unknowable, yet we ask. In asking we delay our own agency and partnerships.
It is only as we come to wilderness as retreat that we are able to wrestle with a smaller and more pertinent question of our own engagement with nasty and broken principalities and powers focused on their own acquisitiveness. Will we risk being a scattered seed/gift?